PROJECT SUMMARY The overall objective of the proposed work is to use mathematical modeling to gain fundamental insights into the mechanisms by which nitric oxide (NO), superoxide (O2 -), and heme oxygenase (HO) regulate renal medullary blood flow, oxygenation, and sodium reabsorption. We will develop numerical models, with inputs from experimental data, to investigate: (I) how NO and O2 - regulate medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL) active sodium reabsorption and oxygen consumption. We will develop a new, steady-state model of vascular and tubular transport in the rat outer medulla (OM), that accounts for the three-dimensional architecture of the medulla, the presence of red blood cells, as well as the production and consumption of oxygen, NO and O2 -. We will determine how interactions between NO and O2 - affect mTAL sodium reabsorption under physiological and pathological conditions. We will examine the hypothesis that NO, as an endogenous inhibitor of active transport, plays an important role in modulating the susceptibility of the medulla to anoxic injury. (II) how NO and O2 - regulate medullary blood flow, blood distribution, and oxygen supply. We will convert the new steady-state model into a dynamic model, and incorporate the effects of vasodilation on medullary blood flow (MBF). We will examine the hypothesis that the diffusion of paracrine substances such as NO from adjacent tubules to vasa recta pericytes provides an efficient mechanism whereby local perfusion is precisely matched to tubular oxygen demand. We will determine whether the enhancement of NO generation that is mediated by constrictors of the medullary circulation (such as Angiotensin II) may serve to protect the outer medulla from ischemic injury. (III) how renal medullary heme oxygenase (HO) and its products carbon monoxide (CO) and biliverdin modulate tubular sodium reabsorption and medullary blood flow. Recent evidence suggests that the renal medullary HO/CO system constitutes a significant antihypertensive mechanism. We will incorporate into our model the activity of HO, the formation of its products, and their effects on reactive oxygen species and NO. We will examine the hypothesis that significant expression of HO in the renal medulla serves to protect this region from ischemic injury, through CO-induced vasodilation and bilirubin-mediated antioxidant effects. We will simulate the effects of renal perfusion pressure-induced elevations in medullary CO concentrations on mTAL sodium reabsorption, so as to gain some insight into the mechanisms underlying pressure natriuresis.